MUMBAI: In a relief to MSRTC, which was embroiled in a legal battle with the BMC for six years, Bombay High Court on Thursday quashed the closure of a pay and-park facility for state transport buses underneath a Dadar flyover in F-North Ward. HC was satisfied that the BMC did not consider all the relevant factors before ordering the closure of the parking space long used by MSRTC. The BMC misconstrued a 2017 HC order in a PIL, observed the HC.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) did not even consult the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) or comply with the principles of natural justice before issuing a drastic direction, the HC division bench of Justice M S Sonak and Justice Jitendra Jain observed in its order.
The HC directed both public bodies to sort out the issue amicably, afresh.
“We believe that this matter is best sorted out by the two corporations, considering the public interest involved,” the bench said.
MSRTC in 2019 petitioned HC against a Jan 2018 order of the BMC deputy chief engineer (traffic) to close the pay and-park under the Jagannath Shankarsheth flyover. MSRTC buses leave for various destinations from Dadar, and the space under the flyover was used not for parking but as a boarding and aligh ting point in public interest, the corporation argued through advocate Aparna Kalathil. It said the BMC misread a June 2017 HC order in a PIL against parking under flyovers and, based on it, directed the MSRTC to shift its bus stand. MSRTC was not a party to the PIL.
The 2017 HC order in the PIL had said since space under flyovers was made ‘no parking zones’, the apprehension raised of any “threat perspective and security if the parking facility is allowed” under the flyovers stood addressed.
The civic order to stop MSRTC buses disturbs a longstanding position, and MSRTC’s version should have been considered before it could be disturbed, said the HC.
BMC advocate Dhruti Kapadia suggested that the issue could be sorted between the two public bodies.
In 2017, the HC noted that areas under the flyovers are marked “no parking zone” and observed that no general orders can be made in the PIL.
The BMC order in 2018, stating that the HC had directed it to “remove the bus stand of the Pune-Mumbai Asiad and Volvo buses of MSRTC with immediate effect,” is improper, the judges noted, adding no such direction was issued in 2017.
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.Swati Deshpande is Senior editor at The Times of India, Mumbai, w...
Read MoreSwati Deshpande is Senior editor at The Times of India, Mumbai, where she has been covering courts for over a decade. She is passionate about law and works towards enlightening people about their statutory, legal and fundamental rights. She makes it her job to decipher for the public the truth, be it in an intricate civil dispute or in a gruesome criminal case.
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